French Finance Minister Roland Lescure has emphasized the need for more stablecoins pegged to the euro, urging European banks to explore tokenized deposits. This statement, reported by Reuters, marks a potential shift in the French government's approach to digital currencies.
Lescure expressed support for Qivalis, a consortium of 12 European banks planning to launch a euro-pegged stablecoin in the second half of 2026, aiming to reduce U.S. dominance in digital payments.
"This is what we need and what we want," Lescure stated, also encouraging banks to delve deeper into tokenized deposits. He noted that the current volume of euro-pegged stablecoins is "not satisfactory" compared to those pegged to the dollar.
This stance differs from the previous strict regulatory approach led by former Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, who opposed privately-issued fiat-pegged cryptocurrencies due to concerns over national sovereignty. More recently, the Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau warned about the potential threat of stablecoins and private money to monetary sovereignty during a discussion with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong.